The young Belgian actor, playwright and presenter Johannes Wirix-Speetjens stars in Classical Queers, a monologue in which he steps into the shoes of iconic queer artists such as Freddie Mercury, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Ethel Smyth, creating a dialogue between his “predecessors” and his own life story.

For many queer people, art has been a refuge, a place where they could be themselves in a world that did not always accept them.
Wirix-Speetjens brings these stories—which have often remained in the shadows—to life, showing how queer identity has been reflected in art over the centuries. At the same time, she weaves together the lives and music of LGBTQ+ artists with her own journey of identity exploration in the 21st century.
The show sheds new light on the history of music and demonstrates how it continues to inspire the search for love and identity. Many of these stories are hidden within the music we still admire, listen to and sing today.